Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti on La Liga title race after Valencia loss | OneFootball

On Saturday, Real Madrid suffered another disappointing defeat in this difficult season as they lost 2-1 at home to Valencia. It is a result that sees them remain three points behind Barcelona in the La Liga title race, but a win for the Catalans later on Saturday would see that gap increase to six.

It was a tough afternoon for Real Madrid, and as per Diario AS, head coach Carlo Ancelotti reflected on the defeat. He also gave his thoughts on the title race, which he sees tougher now.

“We created a lot of chances, we were very close to scoring goals. It may be that we lacked effectiveness, and in recovering the ball, but we conceded very little. It’s true that opponents don’t need much to score on us at the moment. We took risks to try to win, the draw was of no use to us, and we took that counterattack. We did things well offensively. We have lacked some effectiveness.

“It’s much more complicated to fight for La Liga now, but we have the idea of doing well until the end. We have options, except after this game, but we have to fight until the end. We have lost the opportunity to fight for the league more forcefully. The match against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey will be different, they will attack more and we will have to be better at the back and be effective up front.”

Carlo Ancelotti during Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Valencia (Image via Juan Medina / Diario AS)

Vinicius Junior missed a first half penalty that came back to cost Real Madrid, and Ancelotti revealed why the Brazilian took the spot-kick despite missing his last one, which was in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.

“It’s a complicated season with penalties. Bellingham, Mbappe, and Vinicius have all missed… I tried to give him confidence and he missed this one too.”